HISTORY OF ZAMBIA In 1888, Cecil Rhodes, spearheading British commercial and political interests in Central Africa, obtained a mineral rights concessions from local chiefs. In the same year, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, now Zambia and Zimbabwe, were proclaimed a British sphere of influence. In the beginning the territory was administered by Rhodes British South Africa Company (BSAC), which showed little interest in the province and used it mainly as a source of labour. The most important factor in the colonys economy was copper, the discovery of which is due partly to an American scout, Frederick Russell Burnham, who in 1895 lead and oversaw the massive Northern Territories (BSA) Exploration Co. expedition which established that major copper deposits existed in Central Africa.[6] Along the Kafue River in then Northern Rhodesia, Burnham saw many similarities to copper deposits he had worked in the United States, and he encountered natives wearing copper bracelets.[7] In 1923 the British government decided not to renew the companys charter; as a result, Southern Rhodesia was annexed formally and granted self-government in 1923. After negotiations the administration of Northern Rhodesia was transferred to the British Colonial Office in 1924 as a protectorate, with Livingstone as capital. The capital was transferred to the more central Lusaka in 1935. A Legislative Council was established, of which five members were elected by the small European minority (only 4,000 people), but none by the African population. Flag of Northern Rhodesia.In 1928 enormous copper deposits were discovered in the region which then became known as the Copperbelt, transforming Northern Rhodesia from a prospective land of colonization for white farmers to a copper exporter. By 1938 the country produced 13% of worlds copper extraction. The sector was developed by two companies; the Anglo American Corporation (AAC) and the South African Rhodesian Selection Trust (RST), who controlled the sector till independence. The poor safety record and increased taxes triggered a strike of African mineworkers in 1935, known as the Copperbelt strike. The strike was crushed by the authorities; six miners were killed. During the Second World War white miners came out on strike in 1940. Realising the importance of their products for the war, they demanded higher salaries. This strike was followed by another by African mineworkers. Even before the war, there had been talks about merging the two Rhodesias, but the process had been halted by the British authorities, and brought to an absolute stop by the war. Finally, in 1953, both Rhodesias were joined with Nyasaland (now Malawi) to form the Central African Federation. Northern Rhodesia was the centre of much of the turmoil and crises that afflicted the federation in its last years. At the core of the controversy were insistent African demands for greater participation in government and European fears of losing political control. A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesias secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution, and a new national assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. On 31 December 1963, the federation was dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 10:00:01 +0000